“Whatever projects we have and however well we plan them, many times situations that are beyond our control and involve a whole host of events contrary to our expectations, hopes, and desires occur, and we must accept it.” (From Jacques Philippe from his book Interior Freedom, p. 44.)

This can be something small, like yesterday when I arrived at the office door of my heart specialist and was greeted with a sign that said, “We moved.” The problem was I was right on time for my appointment. I would not be able to get an appointment for another month. Instead of allowing the wave of stress that was rising to suck me under, I breathed a bit deeper, as I dialed the number for the main office to see if the address on the door was correct and if they could call ahead for me to say I was on the way.

I followed through on what was within my control, took a few slow breaths, resisted any mental noise, and prayed someone would pick up on the other end of the line. All of which happened. I made my appointment and prayed for the staff at the office who would be receiving many patients like myself, who were not going to be as accepting of the inconvenience…

It would have been very easy to give into the temptation to yell at the locked door, but that would not have helped any. There are times when our plans and efforts regarding a particular outcome or just everyday life are changed. We have a choice to make in those situations. We really do. The key is to remember that little truth and resist the knee-jerk reaction.

Breathing, turning to, and trusting in Jesus is a good first step. When we don’t see the change we seek, we still have the same choice, to fight against or accept the reality of the situation. Much more of our lives than we would like to admit is beyond our control. There are some things in which we can bring about change, some experiences take longer than we would like, and some things we cannot change.

Silence from God does not mean he has not heard our requests. It may be there is need for some adjustments, that more time is needed, or there is something for us to learn. We learn patience by being in a situation in which we don’t want to wait and make the choice to be patient.

The best place to be when we find ourselves at a stand-still, where we would rather be moving forward, is to trust in Jesus and accept the situation. This has worked very well for me in traffic, which also happened yesterday morning on the way to my appointment. From acceptance can come a peace to see better our way through that we might have missed by overreacting.

We can learn or find healing in areas of our lives that we may not even have been aware we there. Above all, we grow in our trust in Jesus and our relationship with him. If at the minimum, we learned to be a little more flexible and patient, that is a good thing. We will experience more peace in our lives. As our flexibility and patience grows, as we trust Jesus more, and accept the interruptions, inconveniences, and hiccups that occur, we may actually receive a better outcome than we imagined or planned in the first place!

Photo: We can learn from he adaptability and flexibility of palm trees. St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.